A comment by Carl Faulkner on a Rochdale chapel page on My Primitive Methodists prompted the discovery of a United Methodist chapel in Lowerplace. Carl said:
“This church was on Oldham Road where it runs parallel with Watkin Street, in an area called Lowerplace.
The church was obviously reconstructed at some point as it is shown as a Methodist Chapel (Free United) (seats for 800) in an 1890 survey (map published 1892). The land fronts Oldham Road between Wandrus Hardware Store (OL16 4TD) and the Plough Inn.
The land is unbuilt on except for a small scout (?) hut in one corner. I cannot recall any permanent building being there in the last 40 years. The archives at Manchester City Council states that it has marriage records up to 1957, which might give a good indication of when in closed. It is listed there as Lowerplace United Methodist.”
Carl’s identification of the chapel as belonging to the United Methodist Free Churches is confirmed by the 1867 Registration of Non-Conformist chapels. The United Methodist Free Church merged with the Methodist New Connexion and the Bible Christians to form the United Methodist church in 1907.
Ordnance Survey maps of 1889, 1908 and 1928 all show the chapel on Oldham Road, with a Sunday school building behind it facing onto Watkin Street. The 1940 survey of Methodist buildings names the former United Methodist building as Lowerplace (Oldham Road) chapel and describes it as brick built with accommodation for 631 people seated on pews. It had 3 additional Sunday school rooms and 12 other rooms.
The 1940 Register also refers to an even larger former Wesleyan Methodist chapel in Lowerplace, on William Henry Street which accommodated 750 people. The current Trinity Methodist church is on the Wesleyan site.
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